Safety lamp-wick.



J. 0. SMITH.

SAFETY LAMP WIGK. APPLICATION FILED Win19, 190s- Patented Feb, 9. 1909.

Inventor:

b w P A; Atty.

E7 1 STA JOSEPH 0. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY LAMP-WICK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

Application filed .Tune 9, 1908. Serial N 0. 437,467.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPH 0. SMITH, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Richmond borough, New York city, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SafetyLamp-Ticks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wicks such as are used in lamps, oil-stoves, andother articles in which the oil is fed by suction or capillaryattraction through the substance of the wick. The two dangers or difliculties of such wicks are the smoking which comes from the fact thatoil is sucked up too rapidly to be burned; and the danger of explosion.

The object of my invention is to produce a wick of such character thatit is impossible for too much oil to be drawn up through the wick nomatter how high the wick may be turned, and for the same reason theflame cannot creep. The wick therefore may be fairly described as anon-smokable wick, and I have found that when 011 lighting a lampequipped with my improved safety wick, if the wick is turned too high itwill of course flame up high because of the oil saturating the top ofthe wick, but the flame immediately drops back to the normal height forlack of supply. I have found that this is a matter of a very few secondstherefore there is no danger either of explosion or continued smoking. Ihave also found that it is perfectly safe to leave the lamp burning atnight because the wick will never supply more than a fixed quantity ofoil even if the upper edge is uneven.

Another advantage of my improved safety wick is that its use modifies ordoes away with the yellowness of the ordinary oil flame and gives a purewhite light. To accomplish this object I form a paste by mixing equalparts of magnesia, hydraulic lime, and silica together with sufiicientvinegar to reduce the mixture to a paste-like consistency. They may bemixed hot or cold as desired. I apply this paste as a thin coating onthe outside only of the lamp Wick. This mixture being non-flammableprotects the outer side of the wick and by filling part of theinterstices of the wick diminishes the channel through which the oil canflow, as above set forth.

My invention may be applied to either flat wicks or round wicks, solidor tubular. In the accompanying drawing I have shown a tubular wick.

The upper part of wick, a, represents the portion to which the paste isapplied, while the lower portion 5, is left free.

I claim:

A safety lamp wick, the upper portion of which is coated with a pastemade of equal parts of magnesia hydraulic lime, and silica dissolved invinegar whereby the channel through which the oil can flow is diminishedand the Wick becomes non-smokable.

JOSEPH C. SMITH.

Witnesses:

HELEN G. MURPHY, W. P. PREBLE, Jr.

